The article in fact acknowledges this. (It says that it came from both Countdown and Des Chiffres et des Lettres, without saying that Countdown itself was based

The article in fact acknowledges this. (It says that it came from both Countdown and Des Chiffres et des Lettres, without saying that Countdown itself was based on Des Chiffres et des Lettres. There's also an Australian version, inspired by Countdown but reverting to the French name, called Letters and Numbers.)